Clarion University will celebrate Equity Week 2011 with special events Nov. 7-9. The week’s theme is “Building Communities of Inclusion and Empowerment.”
All events are free and open to the public, but RSVP is requested by Nov. 4 by emailing the Office of Social Equity at jbauer@clarion.edu or calling 814-393-2109.
Nov. 7: Joe Wilson will kick off the series when he presents his documentary film, “Out in the Silence,” from 7 to 9 p.m. in Hart Chapel. “Out in the Silence” is an Emmy Award-winning film and campaign for justice, equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in rural and small town America.
Namoli Brennet, a songwriter who contributed to the “Out in the Silence” soundtrack, will give a musical introduction.
“Out in the Silence” captures the remarkable chain of events that unfold when the announcement of filmmaker Joe Wilson’s wedding to another man ignites a firestorm of controversy in his small Pennsylvania hometown.
Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson’s journey dramatically illustrates the universal challenges of being an outsider in a conservative environment and the transformation that is possible when those who have long been constrained by a traditional code of silence summon the courage to break it.
The evening is sponsored by the Office of Social Equity and the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee.
Nov. 8: The Presidential Commission on LGBT Concerns will present a roundtable discussion from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Eagle Commons. Lunch will be served.
The roundtable is sponsored by the Office of Social Equity and the Presidential Commission on LGBT concerns.
Nov. 9: Dr. Daniel Burdick will be the featured speaker at the Equity Dinner and Awards Ceremony from 7 to 9 p.m. in the multi-purpose room of James Gemmell Student Complex. Burdick is an associate professor of low brass, music gender/GLBT studies and women’s studies at Edinboro University.
The Office of Social Equity seeks nominations for the Equity Award. Nomination forms can be found online.
The event is sponsored by Student Senate.